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Iretha Franklin
Director, Medicare Marketing at AARP
Professional Background
Iretha Franklin boasts over two decades of dedicated experience in the marketing and communications sectors, where she has honed her skills and expertise in building meaningful strategic client relationships. With a unique approach to consulting, Iretha has consistently showcased her ability to communicate convincingly with senior executives, colleagues, and partners, establishing her reputation as both a diplomatic and persuasive leader within the industry. Throughout her illustrious career, Iretha has developed a remarkable capacity for launching and influencing diverse marketing and communications strategies, adapting successfully to various business models, notably in direct-to-consumer (D2C) and business-to-business (B2B) settings.
Her strong leadership qualities and team-oriented approach have made her the go-to person in collaborative projects, enabling her to develop effective strategies that yield sustainable results. A seasoned presenter and accomplished writer, Iretha is renowned for her published works that provide valuable insights into her field. Her expertise not only extends to strategic consulting but also encompasses customer service, demonstrating her holistic approach to marketing.
Education and Achievements
Iretha Franklin's educational background is impressive and significant in shaping her career trajectory. She pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism at Penn State University, where she laid the foundation for her writing and communication skills. Following this, she furthered her education with a Master of Arts in Journalism from New York University, which refined her understanding of the media landscape and storytelling techniques.
To expand her business acumen, Iretha earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Marketing from the University of Maryland College Park. Her educational journey continued with a Certificate Program in Digital Marketing at Georgetown University, equipping her with the latest strategies and tools needed to thrive in the digital age.
Over the years, Iretha has made significant contributions across multiple organizations. As the Director of Medicare Marketing at AARP, she played a pivotal role in shaping the marketing efforts for the organization's Medicare portfolio. Prior to her current role, she served as the Strategic Communications Director at AARP, where her leadership and vision drove impactful marketing initiatives. Additionally, her experience includes positions as Health Marketing Manager and Marketing Manager at various reputable organizations, including Kaiser Permanente and LexisNexis.
One of Iretha's noteworthy achievements includes creating and implementing a digital marketing strategy for AARP’s member discount benefits, a project that significantly enhanced member engagement and retail sales. Her ability to lead cross-functional teams has also been evident in her role in the re-launch of AARP's branded prescription discount card, where she provided strategic direction and project management oversight, introducing membership verification into the retail pharmacy experience.
Early in her career, Iretha earned recognition for her marketing prowess at LexisNexis, directing the creation of a comprehensive marketing communications plan that successfully launched Nexis.com, their flagship online news platform. Moreover, she served as a trusted advisor to UnitedHealthcare, guiding them through brand management complexities associated with various Medicare plans. Iretha's writing talent was also evident when she penned a column for a national women's magazine, Lear’s, focusing on the unique perspectives of women over 40, a demographic she passionately advocates for.
Achievements
Iretha Franklin's noteworthy achievements and contributions to the field of marketing and communications are vast and impactful. Some of her most recognized accomplishments include:
- Digital Marketing Strategy: Iretha developed a comprehensive digital marketing strategy for AARP’s member discount benefits with a focus on vision and prescriptions. This initiative utilized a blend of online and offline communication channels, resulting in significant increases in awareness, engagement, and retail sales.
- Branded Prescription Card Launch: Iretha effectively led a matrix team on the product re-launch of AARP’s branded prescription discount card, providing strategic direction and brand management. This project was a milestone for the organization, marking the first instance of membership verification at retail pharmacy points-of-sale.
- Advisory Role at UnitedHealthcare: Iretha established herself as a trusted advisor to UnitedHealthcare, where her problem-solving guidance and marketing oversight were instrumental in addressing brand management challenges, thus facilitating the smooth rollout of the AARP branded Medicare portfolio.
- Nexis.com Launch: She directed the marketing communications plan that was essential to the successful launch of Nexis.com, LexisNexis’ flagship online news platform, clearly demonstrating her prowess in digital marketing and project management.
- Published Writer: Beyond her marketing achievements, Iretha showcased her writing capabilities through her column in Lear’s, where she addressed the interests and concerns of women over 40 years old, contributing to the discourse surrounding women's issues in media.
Overall, Iretha Franklin is a dedicated and experienced marketing professional whose strategic insights and leadership have significantly impacted the organizations she has worked with. Her passion for crafting effective marketing and communication strategies, combined with her extensive education and real-world experience, makes her a leader in her field and a valuable asset to any team.
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Mesh works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Mesh offers several powerful features including:
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Mesh is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
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Mesh is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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User feedback consistently highlights Mesh's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Mesh as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Mesh eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.